the magistrate is questioning whether or not it's possible pistorius could orchestrate the scene after the shooting in terms of the positioning of the gun and the cell phones, we're also expecting a police news conference to address the report that the lead investigator in the case is facing reinstated attempted murder charges i believe from 2009 so much more on all of these developments that we have gotten today as court wraps up. it is 4:00 in the afternoon there, coming up on the afternoon there in south africa. we've got just a few seconds for our "end point" of the morning. start for us, chris, what is your takeaway of the day? >> my big takeaway is hero worship and that's what you have with oscar pistorius, we put this guy on a pedestal, he might not have been the best guy off the field but he was a guy who was very good at what he did and so we kind of ignored a lot of the early warning signs here and also on a personal note i want to wish my dad a happy birthday. >> oh, very sweet.

the fact that he is a hero in south africa, will that play a role in what kind of a sentence, if any, he gets and what kind of bail, if any, he gets? >> i think we're ahead of the game when we talk about sentence. we're only at bail and -- >> says the defense attorney. carry on, counselor. >> thank you. but my takeaway from this is whatever kind of case it may be, when it involves criminal law in a prosecution, whether it's in south africa or the united states we can't lose sight of the most important principles, presumption of innocence, burp and reasonab burden of proof and reasonable doubt. there are substantial arguments that bode well for him and he should be given bail. >> the bail hearing continues because they were not able to resolve it today. thanks, guys, i appreciate it. always nice to have you in to talk about the law. "cnn newsroom" with carol costello begins now. see everybody back here tomorrow morning. happening now in "the

newsroom," shocker in south africa, the lead investigator in the oscar pistorius case facing seven attempted murder charges. >> unbelievable new details coming out of court while reeva's family is speaking out to cnn. >> reeva was exceptional. also breaking overnight a massive winter blast. snow, ice, tornadoes, one system. >> think of an inch of ice coating everything. power lines coming down, trees coming down. >> reporter: we're tracking the storm's every move live in wichita. >> it is coming down very hard and fast. plus fast food nation a revealing look at what we eat and how much and the road to oscar. >> you have a better bad idea than this? >> this is the best bad idea we have, sir. >> ben affleck in argo. >> i'm thrilled, i never thought i'd get to this play. >> nischelle turner and the race to the red carpet.

you're live in the "cnn you're live in the "cnn newsroom." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com good morning, thank you so much for being with me. i'm carol costello. in the oscar pistorius case the judge announced he will not make a ruling on bail today. his decision comes on the third day of hearing during final arguments. we'll have more on today's proceedings in just a minute, but first that shocker involving the lead investigator in the case. cnn's nic robertson has that story from pretoria. >> reporter: even before the court begins, a bombshell, south african police announce the lead investigator faces seven counts of attempted murder himself. it stems from an incident when he and other officers allegedly fired shots at a van carrying seven people. they were also charged with using firearms while under the influence of alcohol. the charges had been dropped but were reinstated days before the

pistorius case broke out. inside the hot, stuffy courtroom the judge called him to grill him about his handling of the case against the olympic athlete asking him "did you request records from reeva steenkamp's cell phone, did she receive text messages between 2:00 and 3:00 a.m.?" both his response, "i don't know." when final arguments got under way in the bail hearing the defense insisted the evidence shows oscar pistorius did not commit murder saying, if pistorius really wanted to kill his girlfriend, he would have done it in the bedroom, that her empty bladder is consistent with someone simply getting up and going to the restroom in the middle of the night. they say that steenkamp probably locked the door frantically as she heard pistorius shouting at a burglar and insists pistorius carried her downstairs to take her to the hospital desperate to save her life.

the defense argues that oscar pistorius should be allowed to stay out on bail. >> nic robertson joins us live now and a question, why did the judge decide to put off his decision on bail? >> it seems because neither the prosecution and defense are ready to rest their appeals for no bail or for bail to be enforced so it seems to be very much there's still more to play out in the courtroom. we've just heard from the prosecutor really digging back into the details again asking how there were two cell phones and a pistol on the floor in the bathroom, which is where vie re steenkamp died. why didn't he call out to steenkamp, why didn't pistorius call out to steenkamp so we've seen the prosecutor raise that as an issue even in the closing minutes, the courtroom adjourned for the day. we're seeing the magistrate ask some very pointed questions

about, well, perhaps steenkamp's bladder was empty. when she was shot that's when her bladder emptied. there was no indication she had naturally gone to the bathroom anything other than perhaps hiding there, magistrate also talked about his concerns about pistorius' alleged previous violent incidents where a pistol went off in a restaurant and another situation where he apparently threatened somebody with injury. so it does seem really the defense and the prosecution here and the magistrate digging very, very deep, carol. >> nic robertson reporting live from south africa this morning. reeva's family says the entire ordeal has been surreal, her cousin telling cnn's piers morgan how mothering reeva was everyone in her life. >> reeva was exception al and we've heard in the media what an amazing person she was but she really was, from a young age there was something magical about her. she had this kind nurturing

soul, and doesn't matter if you were 20 years older than her or 20 years younger than her. you always felt like she was mothering you and looking after you.. >> her half brother told cnn's jake tapper they never heard anything bad about her relationship with pistorius and by all accounts reeva seemed happy with him. in the meantime nike said "we believe oscar pistorius should be afforded due process and we will continue to monitor the situation closely." turning to your money, u.s. stock markets are poised to open lower this morning. [ bell ringing ] that's after stocks plunged ahead of wednesday's opening bell. the dow jones dropping more than 100 points on worries the federal reserve might scale back its bond buying program. the s&p and nasdaq also closed lower. it's a different story, though, for walmart this morning. the mega retailer reporting a

bigger than expected profit last quarter, and the stock is heading higher in premarket trading, but walmart is tampering that optimism and pointing out consumers are growing more cautious. christine romans joins us now from new york and we had heard that walmart's earnings were going to be down. >> look, we know that things were good for walmart in the last part of last year, good holiday season, but carol, the most important thing is what's happening in the first part of this year, and walmart confirming it is worried, specifically the paycheck to paycheck customer is showing signs of slowing in february. what's happening the beginning part of this year that's troublesome for consumers the delay in income tax refunds, something hurting the walmart shopper, rising gas prices, gas prices are up 47 cents in just 35 days, the payroll tax holiday is gone, that means people have less money in their pockets. how much less? if you make $30,000 a year, a prime, a walmart shopper, if

you're seeing $50 less each month, you're seeing less in sales. >> christine romans reporting live in new york this morning. in kansas city, missouri, we're getting a new look at a gas explosion that killed one person. take a look. this video was taken across the street tuesday as the gas line exploded inside a popular restaurant. 15 people were hurt. there it is, you see it there. wow. subcontractor reported hitting a gas line about an hour before the explosion, and in eastern georgia, investigators are trying to figure out why a small plane crashed after landing, killing five people. the faa says the plane ran off the run yay last night outside of augusta, following a flight from nashville. two people on board did survive. 30 million people across the country are waking up to scenes like this in kansas today. the storm affecting 800,000 square miles in 18 states. check out what happened at the world golf championships in arizona, in just a matter of

hours the fairway getting covered in two inches of snow, and that means playing was suspended. in san bernardino, california, cars crashing into one another. oh, wow. yes, they were. the storm causing a traffic nightmare from the west coast to the central plains. >> side roads once you get off the middle of the road on the sides where they haven't plowed it's getting pretty slick there. >> my daughter is at columbia and she got stuck in the mud, she slid off the road. i can't get to her. it's a mess everywhere, so highway 49 is actually blocked right now. >> erin mcpike is in wichita, kansas and meteorologist jennifer delgado is at the cnn weather center. we start with you erin, it stopped snowing for a little while at least right? >> reporter: it looks like it has stopped, yes, however, the governor of kansas, sam brownback did declare a state of emergency here because we have seen a lot of snow pile up in the last four hours or so. we've got somewhere between 6 to

8 inches. if you can check out over here a little bit, obviously you can't see the road but also we've seen snowplows go by all morning long eight to ten times making a median, big eepz of snow theheae middle, a huge mess. carol one of the interesting things about this snowstorm is that it's thunder snow, we have some video from earlier this morning of lightning and thunder with that snow. we'll play that here for a second. i guess you can see it. and because of this snow, so much of the state is shut down today, most of the universities are closed, lots of public schools, the government, for the most part, is shut down so we want to see people stay off the roads today and stay home and play, carol. >> that is so strange to listen to it thundering while it's snowing. weird. you stay safe out there and try to stay warm.

erin mcpike thank you so much. this isn't the only storm threatening the united states. jennifer delgado is at the cnn weather center to tell us more. >> you're right. we are watching this big storm system because this is what we're calling our triple threat, the snow, the ice, as well as the severe storms. we start off right now again focusing on what's happening there, the snow, and in wichita they're getting a break from the heavier snowfall but it is pounding parts of kansas city. you can see where the wintry mix is through southern parts of arkansas as well as into parts of missouri, now what we're going to see is potentially 12 to 18 inches of snowfall, and the heaviest is certainly going to be to the north of interstate 70 and across parts of kansas. the other part with the freezing rain the ice will be accumulating in some locations up to three-quarters of an inch. of course this is going to cause problems with trees, power lines coming down, so certainly that is the other part of the story. let's follow what's happening down in texas, stronger storms moving through, you can see that line of storms and the

convection with this storm system is what is causing that thunder snow that erin is enjoying right now. i have to tell you i'm gel with us that. the other thing that we're watching is the flood potential. with the storm system it's not just today and tomorrow. it's going to move across the east, it's going to bring potentially six inches of rainfall across parts of the south and notice atlanta, georgia, is right there, too. carol, you don't like that, do you? >> no, i forgot my umbrella. >> would you rather have six inches of snow or rain? >> point taken. i'll take the rain. >> pick your evil. >> exactly, thank you, jennifer. just ahead nischelle turner gives us an inside look at the rise and fall and rise again of ben affleck. >> who knew best director oscar snub would lead to award season success? ben affleck's second act, when we come back. [ lane ] are you growing old waiting for your wrinkle cream to work? neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair has the fastest retinol formula. to visibly reduce fine lines and wrinkles in just one week.

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releasing its recommendations, they include not giving certain medicines to older diabetic patients. the list intended to help patients talk to their doctor to ensure that a medical test is actually necessary. drew peterson could be sentenced today in the murder of his third wife, if a judge throws out his bid for a new trial. in september an illinois jury convicted the ex-cop, his third wife's death was once ruled an accident but later changed to homicide after his fourth wife disappeared. peterson could face up to 60 years behind bars. a northern arizona road remains closed after a section of pavement collapsed. the arizona department of transportation says a geologic event may be to blame. drivers have to take a 45-mile detour while engineers try to figure out how to fix this thing. president obama opens up about his golf game with tiger woods. the two partnered sunday in florida. president obama saying "tiger has nothing to worry about."

>> he plays a different game than i do. he's on another planet. >> is he more nervous because he's playing with you or you more nervous because you're playing with tiger woods? >> he knew i wasn't a big threat to his world ranking, and i knew that i better keep my day job. >> woods says he and the president beat democratic donor jim crane and u.s. trade representative ron kirk during their golf game. they may have been making a fake movie but "are rgo" has a chance at taking ohm oscar on sunday. >> i got an idea. they're a canadian film crew for a science fiction movie. i fly to tehran, we fly out as a film crew. i need you to help me make a fake movie. >> you want to act like a hollywood big shot without making a movie? >> yeah. >> you'll fit right in. >> it won't win for best director because while ben affleck has been taken home top prizes at other award shows he

was not nominated for an oscar for director. nischelle turner joins us with more on the biggest snub in hollywood. good morning. >> carol, did you just say i must see this movie? >> yes, i can't believe i haven't seen it and it's the kind of movie i love. >> i am bea to walk out of this booth right now. carol, run to the theater before sunday and see this movie. it is just that good. you know i was there that morning at the oscar nominations with the best director category came up. couple names that everyone expected to hear, right, but when the list was read, no ben affleck. it was almost like the needle scratching the record. could you see people actually mouthing, no ben affleck? little did we know, this snub would become just another scene in what he's now dubbed his second act. >> i'm thrilled, i never thought i would get to this place in my career at this point. >> reporter: what a career it's been for "argo" director ben

affleck. 15 years ago he and fellow boston buddy matt damon took home best director for "go will hunting." after early success came a series of flops like "jersey girl" and "gigli." >> hello. >> both co-starring jennifer lopez to whom affleck was once engaged. the couple dominated tabloid headlines throughout their relationship which ended in 200047. >> some stuff work and stuff didn't, i ran afoul of the press and became exposed. causing me to think what did i want to do in the industry? >> he started with directing "gone baby gone" followed by "the town" considered one of the best films of 2010. george clooney co-producer on "argo" credits affleck's move mind the camera. >> he was in actor jail for a couple of years. he directed his way out of this. >> reporter: which brings to us "argo" widely regarded as ben's

best directing project. it was an early contender heading into awards season. then last month came the snub heard round hollywood when affleck was not nominated for best director at the academy awards, despite "argo" getting a best picture nod. that snub hasn't hurt him in the awards circuit, quite the opposite actually. golden globes, directors guild, baftas, you name the award affleck has won it for directing "argo." the drama is a front-runner in the oscar best picture race. whether he'll be the toast of the oscars remains to be seen. lot has changed since their big night 15 years ago. when we first saw you and affleck you were the kids about town in hollywood. >> in one respect it feels like yesterday and then i look at, you know, we're both, we're married, we've got these beautiful children, we've lived a lot of life. >> yes, they have. ben affleck was nominated as a producer for the film, and he's

been publicly saying how proud he is of the film's seven nominations, as he should be, but "argo" is being considered a front-runner for best picture, which is really odd because nated for , the movie doesn't win best picture, but with all of the "argo" momentum this year, that could change but you know, carol, the thing i like about ben affleck, he always ends everything with a laugh or a joke when people ask him about the snub. he always says why isn't anyone saying i was snubbed in the best actor category. >> now can he say i told you so without having to say i told you so. >> he definitely could be doing that sunday night. >> you can catch oscar coverage this sunday night, our red carpet special "the road to gold" starts at 6:00 eastern time. and this bit of news just in to cnn, former first lady laura bush is asking to be removed from the new same-sex marriage ad that's out now. >> none of us would want to be told we can't marry the person we life. that's why a growing majority of

americans believe it's time to allow marriage for gay and lesbian couples. >> when couples are admitted they ought to have the same rights everyone has. >> awe loing them to live together with the protection of law seems to me is -- >> according to laura bush's spokeswoman, this is a quote, "mrs. bush did not approve of her inclusion in this advertisement nor is she associated in any way with the group that made the ad. when she became aware of the advertisement tuesday night, we requested that the group remove her from it." the ad was produced by the group the respect for marriage coalition. we're going to talk more much about this topic on a new talk back show at 10:30 eastern time. talk back question for this hour, who is to blame for forced spending cuts, what washington calls sequestration, the massive forced budget cuts are just days away. facebook.com/carolcnn or tweet me @carro@carolcnn.

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now is your chance to talk back on the big stories of the day. the question, who is to blame for forced spending cuts? you know, sequestration? it's exhausting. imagine playing the blame game day after day after day. >> i'm not really willing to discuss it in the framework that he's made up for himself. i mean for goodness sakes, it was his proposal. he proposed the sequester. it was his idea.

he signed it into law, and now he's going to tell us that, oh, it's all our fault? >> he's talking about the president, but does senator rand paul realize according to "the atlantic" the senate has not passed major legislation in 952 days. allow me to let that sink in, 952 days of nothin' much. in eight days, $1.2 trillion of spending cuts will begin and according to the congressional budget office if that happens 750,000 jobs will be lost over the next seven months and the economy will slow again and won't that be fun? as for the president, he's sitting down with local news anchors to urge congress to act while his men continue to play the exhausting blame game. >> we can't do anything without the house republicans doing something and their view is these cuts should happen. they've made a political decision that these automatic

cuts should go into effect, which means that there are americans working today who will lose their jobs. that's a choice they're making. >> whatever. just do something. so the talk back question for you today, who is to blame for forced spending cuts? facebook.com/carolcnn or tweet me @carolcnn. (music throughout) why turbo? trust us. it's just better to be in front.

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boulevard and flamingo road. if you've ever been to las vegas it's right by bally's, across the street from the bellagio with the big, beautiful fountains that spot up, you know that scene. can you imagine? it's just mind-boggling. we're on the phone with las vegas police right now to try to find out how this incident started, how far this car-to-car shoot-out went -- was it a couple miles down las vegas boulevard? we just don't know right now. you can see the aftermath. other cars were damaged in this shoot-out and as you can see one of the cars appeared to be on fire at one point. you can see the stuff in the road that the fire department used to put out the fire. again, we don't know what started this, but an affiliate klas is reporting there are injuries and possibly deaths, when we get more information we'll pass it along to you. political buzz is your rapid

fire look at the best political topics of the day. three topics, 30 seconds. roland martin and will cain are playing good. welcome, gentlemen. >> glad to be here. >> washington's blame game in full effect over the spending cuts or as washington likes to call them sequestration. republicans blame the president for that stupid idea, democrats say republicans agreed to that stupid idea. president obama now urging congress to do something to act on something, not on capitol hill of course but in a series of interviews with local television anchors. in the meantime, some republicans say the buck actually does stop with him. >> i'm not really willing to discuss it in the framework that he's made up for himself. i mean for goodness sakes, it was his proposal, you know, he proposed the sequester. it was his idea. he signed it into law, and now he's going to tell us that, oh, well it's all our fault?

>> senator rand paul. so our question who is to blame for the forced spending cuts and really should we care? roland? >> all of them. i wish they would shut up, all of them. first and foremost remember, okay, congress had to pass it, the. the had to sign it. it's called equal blame. secondly, there was a super committee that was supposed to meet to hammer out an agreement to avoid this very thing. on the super committee, republicans and democrats. could they agree? no. so everybody should be quiet, stop whining and complaining and passing the buck and accept responsibility for a lack of leadership, lack of action. >> will? >> agreed. who cares? there's so much blame to go around and these forced cuts are such a small issue to shove it all into. roland gave awal sis who is to blame for what happened in the past. i'll tell you who is to blame for what's going on right now. president obama is to blame for demagoguing washington monumenting, the small 1% cuts are going to be on the most

important things and republicans to blame for acting like military cuts are the huge job creator. the truth is both are hugely to blame for not handling big issues, big problems addressing this as one big deficit reduction package. not this small little force cut project. >> we've all played the blame game ourselves. i didn't want to be accused of being a hypocrite. that standoff continues on spending cuts. there are signs are common ground on marriage equality on display in this new ad from the respect for marriage coalition. >> none of wus want to be told we can't marry the person we love. growing majority of americans believe it's time to allow marriage for gay and lesbian couples. >> when couples are committed they ought to have the same rights everyone else has. >> allowing them to live together with the protection of the law it seems to me is the way we should move in this country. >> freedom means freedom for everyone. >> it features prominent democrat and republicans

although laura bush said she did not approve of being in the ad and wants to be taken out. this is an issue seeing increased support nationwide but some say equating the fight for marriage equality to the struggle of african-americans in the '50s and '60s is inaccurate and inappropriate. are gay rights the same as civil rights? will? >> yes, but i would caution that that question is a little too broad. so for example on the issue of same-sex marriage, gay marriage, is that a civil rights issue? yes, i think it definitely is. i think denying couples the ability to marry for the state to treat them the same as heterosexual couples is a violation of a civil right. for example i don't think don't ask, don't tell is a civil rights issue, so we can't just throw one embrumbrella over all the gay rights fights and say are they civil rights. on the issue of same-sex marriage the answer is yes. >> roland? >> is there a difference between what's happening with gay rights and with what happened with african americans? yes there is, because again, you

could have been gay and white in jim crow and still been able to eat in a hotel or a restaurant but here's the issue with civil rights that's a broad term. look at title ix. the reason title ix has passed in 1972, that's a provision of the civil rights act. the americans with disabilities act has been deemed as a civil right that also as a result of the civil rights act, so the civil rights act was not called the black rights act, it was called the civil rights act and so it's been applied broadly. that's where you have commonality and why it's been used. >> final question, one of the hottest tickets in washington, the white house correspondent's dinner, conan o'brien set to host the annual event which has turned into quite the star-studded affair attracting people like kim kardashian and steven spielberg, but is all this hobnobbing between hollywood, the press and politicians they all love so out of touch? the question, is the white house correspondents dinner passe? roland? >> first of all it's a dinner. who cares?

it's a scholarship dinner. you had stars of the nba all-star game i was down there kickin' it with the folks, so was wolf blitzer other media folks there, you have the super bowl, all kind of other events, you have people in media who go to the oscars. frankly, this is washington at its best where this is the only time they really get to be that important and try to hobnob and so what the heck? let them have their party, more importantly, they need to learn how to laugh so conan, bring the jokes, please! >> will? >> this is washington at its worst. >> it's a party. >> i've been to this thing, the whole thing is designed to make you feel like you're a star, which you're not, no matter what roland might think of himself. >> hey, hey, play prince's "baby i'm a star" right now. >> that was a troll, i easily got him right there. the whole point of the press is to be adversarial and the last four years they've fallen down the job, the press is seeing

themselves as part of story, part of the hobnobbing, we're supposed to be adversarial. >> carol the real deal is will can't wear a tuxedo unless he's wearing boots and a jacket. >> i like that look. will and roland thanks so much. >> thanks a lot. we get back to las vegas, breaking news a car-to-car shoot-out right down las vegas boulevard in the heart of the tourism area in las vegas. kls our affiliate reporting three people are dead. the shooting apparently ended right by bally's across the street from the bellagio. these are live pictures we're showing you right now. las vegas boulevard has now been closed down by police. let's listen to the chopper reporter for klas right now. >> just unbelievable as we continue to piece together exactly what happened and obviously metro police, they're continuing to try to kind of piece things together themselves but once again our live pictures from chopper 8 showing you the horrific nature, the fiery end to this horrible accident involving a maserati and another

unnamed vehicle that was actually shooting at the maserati, exchange of gunfire, once again as we were mentioning the passenger of that mazrasera was shot and killed before the car actually crashed. there's the moz rattie on northbound las vegas boulevard slightly north of flamingo, the taxi cab caught fire and exploded upon impact killing two people inside that vehicle and then we have numerous other cars two more in the intersection and a pickup truck just outside the shot. i'll pull out quick and show you the closure parameter at interstate 15, this is i-15 and that's where traffic is just starting to backup as everybody has to be diverted on to the northbound i-15 whether you like it or not. use harmon, tropicana or the super arterial to avoid this area as it will be shut down probably until at least noon today if not later. >> klas also reporting again three people have died as a result of this car-to-car

shoot-out on las vegas boulevard. as we get more information again we'll pass it along to you. we'll be right back. (announcer) at scottrade, our clients trade and invest exactly how they want. with scottrade's online banking, i get one view of my bank and brokerage accounts with one login... to easily move my money when i need to. plus, when i call my local scottrade office, i can talk to someone who knows how i trade. because i don't trade like everybody. i trade like me. i'm with scottrade. (announcer) scottrade. awarded five-stars from smartmoney magazine.

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now to your money, the scooter score and the tv commercials -- >> if you're living with limited mobility, call the scooter store today, we're experts at getting you the power chair or scooter you need. >> now the scooter store is under investigation being accused of medicare fraud. their texas offices have been raided, employees told to leave. alison kosik joins us from the new york stock exchange with more on this. good morning. >> and everybody thought the scooter store is invincible. kidding there. the fbi is staying quiet on the details but we know over 100 law enforcement officials marched into that scooter store headquarters yesterday in new braunfels, texas and told the employees to go home. the scooter store have reported millions of medicare payments it's already agreed to give $19.5 million back to the government. medicare is in the process of cracking down on fraud. the program is especially concerned about paying for devices that are prescribed to

people who don't need them. medicare is trying harder than ever to stop medical equipment suppliers from abusing the system and they're sort of putting out some red flags to patients and sometimes these aren't necessarily fraudulent against the patients. it's more fraudulent against the government. some telltale signs offering a free scooter or wheelchair, offering to waive copayments or billing medicare for equipment the patient never gets or after it's returned. carol? >> alison kosik reporting live from the new york stock exchange. a tu ba player at lsu really, really stood out in the student band. now he's a standout on the, can you spot who the basketball player it? we'll be right back. it's chevy truck month! silverado was also recognized for the lowest cost of ownership. hey, what are you gonna do with it? end table. oh. [ male announcer ] it's chevy truck month. now get 0% financing for 60 months,

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47 minutes past the hour, a little bit of what's going on in las vegas, a car-to-car shoot-out down las vegas boulevard, that's on the las vegas strip. we understand the shooting started in front of a casino in these two cars, one of which was a maserati. then the cars started driving down las vegas boulevard, the drivers were apparently shooting at one another.

we know from klas there are reports that three people are dead but in the course of the car-to-car shoot-out other cars were involved. one of the cars caught on fire. another car involved was a taxi and that's pretty much all we know right now. we don't know what the shooting initially started over but it did start in front of a casino. klas is reporting that three people have died in this incident. las vegas boulevard remains closed this morning. in other news oscar pistorius stays in jail for now. just a short time ago a south african court said a bail hearing for pistorius would resume tomorrow. he's accused of premeditated murder in the killing of his girlfriend. to damascus, syria, where at least 35 people were killed after a car bombing near the ruling party's headquarters, more than 230 people were hurt, most of the victims were civilians. the bomb went off at a checkpoint manned by government soldiers. people in germany will not

see cool youtube videos of the meteor streaking through russia. the website says there is a fight between youtube and the primary organization that licenses music in germany. that group actually wants youtube to pay a fee for each video where a car's radio music is played in the background. forget that says youtube. it's now blocking videos of the meteor in germany. 30 million people across the country are dealing with scenes like in kansas. heavy snow is falling in the central plains the storm is roughly the size of mexico. 18 states now under a warning, watch or advisory. a new report from the cdc highlights some pretty unhealthy eating habits for americans. on an average day between 2007 and 2010 adults got 11% of their calories from fast food. that percentage is actually down, the previous report showed adults got 13% of calories from fast food. the latest report shows young adults getting 15% of their

calories from fast food and young african-american adults getting 21% of their calories from restaurants like wendy's, taco bell and kfc. me @carolcnn. your comments, next.

talkback question, who's do blame for forced spending cuts. i'm glad to see cuts of any

kind. sequestration or others. we must get spending down. congress is to blame, but but we're the ones who put these do nothing bow zoes in office, so we can't escape the blame. the obama white house, too bad, let it go or we will not cut anything. come on, no brainer, congress, but more specifically, the obstructionist gop, not all the gop, just the ones who want to bring the country to its knees to prove a point, most of whom drink tea. facebook.com/carolcnn or tweet me @carolcnn. [ male announcer ] how do you engineer a true automotive breakthrough? ♪ you give it bold new styling, unsurpassed luxury and nearly 1,000 improvements. introducing the redesigned 2013 glk. see your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for exceptional offers through mercedes-benz

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[ male announcer ] one pill each morning. 24 hours. zero heartburn. the winter weather out west was so bad that an opening round of the pga tour in arizona had to be postponed baufz snow. this is the bleacher report. >> hey, carol, 71 day, and nice and sunny, then 24 hours later, 32 degrees and snow. that's football weather. the opening round of the world golf classic went from this to that. wow. look at that. 2 inches of snow covering the desert, the cactuses, this is 30 minutes north of tucson, arizona. of course, as carol said, round one postponed until today. they can't get on and play until the snow melts. now this shot is from scots dale, arizona, this is salt river field, where the arizona diamondbacks hold spring

practice and games. there's no baseball. the conditions will improve later today. it's 50 and sunny. it's going to be all right. quite an experience for them. plenty of emotion last night at staples center it was the first home game since jerry buss passed away. fans signed a card, his seat was empty. kobe bryant before the game started addressed the crowd. >> on monday we lost who we all know to be the greatest owner in sports. ever. he was a brilliant, incredible owner, but he was even a better person. >> now, buss won ten championshipingst in 34 years as at owner. the lakers got a good game and delivered a win over the boston sell ticks. it was a rivalry that jerry helped build.

check out the amazing table tennis shot. behind the back for the point. unbelievable, even his opponent is impressed. it happened fast, the replay, watch him, behind the back, even with spin on it. that's skills. love it. let's end here. andrew plays center on lsu east basketball team. three years ago, he was a freshman with a scholarship to play tube. how did he go to basketball player? at 7'3" he couldn't go anywhere without someone asking why you were on the band and not the basketball team. >> and people would say he needs to try out for the basketball team, what is he doing in the band? the games were just packed with stuff like that. >> awesome. love the ending. for all your entertainment sports news. keep in mind, this guy played

one year of high school basketball, didn't play for a few years in college, and now he doesn't play that much, he's a division one basketball player. >> he likes to play the tuba. >> he's maybe a gym coach and a band teacher. >> thanks, joe carter, thank you so much. all right, we want to get right to las vegas and the breaking news happening there right now. las vegas boulevard remaybes shut down after a rolling shootout right down the vegas strip. it involved a maserati and another car, two people shooting at each other. there was a crash, the local affiliate reporting three people are dead. let's listen to the chopper reporter. >> reporter: was shot and killed here in the rolling shootout on las vegas boulevard. a passenger survived. i was trying piece together a little bit of the accident

looking at it. and we noticed that the passenger side window was not busted out, but the driver's side window is missing. that was one of the clues that was making me wonder how the passenger would have been killed, but it was the driver. obviously two other people were killed in the tax si cab where there's little left after it exploded at the fla mean go. and the area, two more vehicles there, six vehicles that were smashed into involving this crash and we'll continue to follow this throughout the morning hours and obviously las vegas boulevard will be sealed off for most of the day. back to you. >> this took place or ended right near ballies, across the street from the bellagio. it started at another casino and they drove down the street shooting at one another. the chopper sprained that death and destruction and a taxi catching on fire. exploding into flames and we'll

are have much more as it progresses on cnn. let's talk about the weather. extreme weather now affecting as ma as 60 million americans. people are waking up to things line this kansas. this is kansas city as a news crew drives around town. 800,000 square miles and 18 states under severe weather watches or warnings. in some parts of california, krars crashing into one another. the storm causing quite the traffic nightmare. some places in california could get a thick layer of ice buildup, making the roads even more dangerous. just look at how big the storm is, several states will get 12 and 18 inches, in the southeast expecting 2 it and 16 inches of rain, possible flooding and there's a chance of hail and tornados. erin mcpike is in wichita where the snow is still piling up. >> reporter: hey, carol. some people in kansas are calling this the blizzard of oz because this kind of snowfall is

really not typical in this state. the snow that we're going to see today between 10 and 18 inches is in some cases more than kansas would get in a typical year. this might be one of the top three snowfalls in recorded history in kansas. let me show you how much we've got. we have this handy ruler here. sticking it down and looking at 8 inches so far. but no other parts of the state they're going to see 17, 18 inches. because people are not used to this kind of snow, we saw a sports car out on the road earlier. we're going to show that. if you want your wheels to get stuck, take a sports car out, but not really a good idea. the other thing we to want show you is earlier this morning it was a thunder snow. which means thunder and lightning all throughout the morning which was kind of weird to wake up to this morning. i think you got that there. but, carol, the governor here,

sam brownback is saying he wants people to stay off the roads becauses it dangerous. we have a state of emergency in kansas. >> it's so weird to hear thunder when it snows. erin reporting live from wichita, kansas this morning. now to two bomb shells in the oscar pistorius case. first another night no jail for pistorius. his family left dejected by the news. just before adjourning, the judge announced no ruling today. that means we'll have a fourth day of hearings tomorrow with a possible decision then. now today's second major development centers around the lead investigator in the case. he has now been replaced because the investigator originally assigned to the case was actually accused of attempted murder. here's nick robertson. >> reporter: even before the court begins, a bomb shell. south african police announce that the lead investigator faces

seven counts of attempted murder himself. it stems from an incident when he and other officer allegedly fired shots at a van with seven people and charged with using firearms under the influence of alcohol. the charges were dropped but reinstated days before the pace case broke out. in the hot, stuffy courtroom, the judge ordered him to appear asking him, did you request records from reeva steenkamp's cell phone? did she receive text messages between 2:00 and 3:00 a.m.? his response? i don't know. when final arguments got underway, the defense insisted the evidence shows oscar pistorius did not commit murder, saying if pistorius really wanted to kill his girlfriend he would have done it in the bedroom. that her empty bladder is consistent with someone getting up and going to the restroom in

the middle of the night. they say that steenkamp probably locked the door frantically as she heard him shouting at a burglar, and insists that he carried her down stairs to take her to the hospital, desperate to save her life. the defense argues for a lesser charge and that oscar pistorius should be allowed to stay out on bail. nick robertson, cnn, pretoria, south africa. >> and we are going to take you live to south africa a little later this hour because a piece of this case, this other bomb shell news that the lead investigator in the oscar pistorius case has been replaced because the original investigator, it turns out, has been accused of attempted murder. again, we'll take you live to south africa for more. reeva steenkamp's family says the entire ordeal has been surreal. her cousin telling piers morgan how mothering reeva was to everyone in her life. >> reeva was -- she was

exceptional. i mean, you've heard in the media what an amazing person she was, but she really was. from an young age there was something magical about her. she had a kind, nurturing soul. and doesn't matter if you were 20 years older or younger, you always felt she was mothering you and looking after you. >> her half brother adam told jake tapper they never heard anything about about the relationship with oscar and by all accounts reeva seemed really happy. vice president joe biden visits connecticut today as he pushes the white house' now agenda to curb gun violence. a conference just got underway about 12 miles from newtown. the first panel features the parents of a girl killed at the school. the nra is moving forward, newspapers in five states printed ads similar to this one, to reach out to democratic lawmakers pushing them to oppose

the gun control policies. it's tripling it is campaign to air a web video on news sites. search over in kansas city after an explosion and new video shows us as it exploded. we'll have more after this. ♪ come on, boy! [ barks ] ♪ oh, heavenly day here we go. ♪ cha-cha-cha ♪ don't you know that i love ya ♪ ♪ cha-cha-cha-cha-cha ♪ always thinking of ya ♪ all around the world ♪ everybody singin' along ♪ singin' along ♪ fly me to the moon ♪ let me play among the stars ♪ let me see what spring -- ♪

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about 20 minutes baby three hot topics making headlines. one based on a new ad that features prominent republicans promoting same sex marriage. >> allowing them to live together with the protection of law seems to me is the way we should be moving in this country. >> freedom is freedom for everyone. >> laura bush, part of that ad, she pulled out, says she wants no part of it. we'll talk about why and also ask are gay rights the same as civil rights? facebook.com/carolcnn, or tweet me @carolcnn. this is for real this time. step seven point two one two. verify and lock. command is locked. five seconds. three, two, one. standing by for capture. the most innovative software on the planet... dragon is captured.

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attempted murder. let's head to south africa and check in with robyn curnow. this is mind boggling. why wasn't he suspended ? >> reporter: i'm sorry, i'm laugh, but it is, isn't it? i mean, it just gets more and more absurd as the case goes on because it is every twist and turn is a television drama. in the last few hours we heard the investigator who appeared before the court yesterday was charged with seven counts of attempted murder. apparently for a drunken incident where he shot into a mini bus taxi full of people along with a few other police officers. now in the courtroom today, the prosecutors say, listen, we don't know, and the investigator didn't know that this case had been reopened, essentially. so some confusion as to what knew what and when. but the south africans acting swiftly. he's been replaced, pulled off the oscar pistorius case and

been replaced with the man who heads up all of south africa's detectives. they're concerned about credibility or any impact on the case. so, but still, very, very bizarre twist, isn't it? >> it's mind boggling. and you have to wonder how this will affect the overall case, because you told us yesterday that investigators were in trouble for not covering their feet when they walked into the house and may have destroyed evidence. >> reporter: absolutely. and i think that's why the state has moved so quickly to remove this man who was making these contradictory statements and he didn't find any inconsistencies in oscar pistorius' case. that's not what the state prosecutor thinks. because i've been in court all day today. it was fascinating. i was actually glued to my wooden seat. and what was fascinating was in the last sort of hour or so, the

state prosecutor really ham hamtered his statement, his affidavit from yesterday. pointing out inconsistency after inconsistency. he kept saying it doesn't make sense. here's an example, he talked about the position of a gun and two cell phones left on a bathroom mat at the crime scene. he said that oscar pistorius says that reeva got up in the middle of the night, if that's the case, why did she take her cell phone? he said he shot from outside the bathroom, if that was the case, why were the gun cartridges insided bathroom? he didn't realize reeva wasn't in her bed, but according to his version, he would have had to have walked past her side of the bed twice and why didn't he notice her not there? also, the gun holster was found on her side of the bed, on the left-hand side of the bed. just this one night oscar pistorius said he slept on that side of the bed. he kept on digging with the

inconsistency s. but basically the prosecutor saying oscar pistorius showed a total lack of insight and realization of what he had done. and i must say that oscar and his family looked pretty somber at the end of that one. >> okay. so no decision on bail today, maybe tomorrow. robyn curnow from south africa. probably tomorrow. shocking video shows two little girls brawling. the worst part, it sounds like adults are encouraging them. racd a new role. working behind the scenes to provide companies with services... like helping hr departments manage benefits and pensions for over 11 million employees. reducing document costs by up to 30%... and processing $421 billion dollars in accounts payables each year. helping thousands of companies simplify how work gets done. how's that for an encore? with xerox, you're ready for real business.

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17 minutes past the hour, he is everything the tea party could inspect a senator. ted cruz is outspoken, aggress i have, he's not just challenging democrats, he's bucking the gop establishment and only in office for a few weeks. cnn congressional continue dana bash has more. >> reporter: it had the look and feel of a kban event, except ted cruz isn't up for re-election for ten years. the texans are applauding his head turning performance after only one month in office. >> mr. cruz, no. >> joining only two others to vote against john kerry for secretary of state, aggressively defending gun rights and trying to take down defense secretary nominee chuck hagel. >> have you been paid by a foreign government.

>> it is unusual for a freshman to be this outspoken en a high profile issue. >> at the end of the day, i was elected to represent 26 million texans and to speak the truth. you know, i think a lot of americans are tired of politicians in washington in both parties who play games. >> reporter: the 42-year-old cuban american from texas, studied the principles and memorized the constitution as a teenager thanks to his father, a cuban refugee. he became splis ter general of texas, arguing for state rights and religious freedom before the u.s. supreme court. tea party activist bucked the gop establishment to help elect cruz. >> he's the total package. he's a great messenger for ideas, a true believer and a guy you never have to wonder about how he's going to vote. >> reporter: conservatives in texas may be ecstatic he's so

aggressive so fast, but for some senior republican senators, not so much. what are guiding principles of the senate for a freshman senator is come in and be a workhorse, not a show horse. you don't seem to be following that. >> the attention that has focused on me, in my opinion is actually primarily being driven by an effort to distract from merits of the hagel nomination. >> reporter: cruz angered senators in both parties, demanding to know without evidence if hagel accepted money for speeches from foreign countries that oppose u.s. interests. >> if that $200,000 in his bank account came directly from saudi arabia, from north korea. >> reporter: that the got him a smackdown from republican john mccain. >> no one on this committee at any time should impugn his character or his integrity.

from democrats, suggestions of mccarnyism. >> it was reminiscent of some bad times. >> i do find it ironic in the course of attacking me and using a label line mccarthyism. they chide me for not respecting comedy. >> reporter: it's clear he did not run to make friends. >> i find it amusing that those in washington are puzzled when someone actually does what they said they would do. >> data bash join us live from washington. you got to admit, he has a point there. >> reporter: he does have a point. and that's why he has so much support, even more so from the people who got him there. but here in washington, the buzz on cruise in the senate mallways, even among fellow republicans, how can i put this diplomatically, he's well aware of his intellect. one gop senator said even in a

place of healthy egos, cruz stands out. a supporter in texas said maybe a little dose of humor and levity in the way he interacts and speaks could go a long way. but it is clear talking to him and watching him he is relishing the criticism from the squauld so-called establishment. >> thanks so much. when we come back, we're going to have more information about the terrible shooting on the las vegas strip. two cars shooting at one another while driving down las vegas boulevard. with the year's largest selection of mouth-watering lobster entrees. like our delicious lobster lover's dream, featuring two kinds of succulent lobster tails. or our savory, new grilled maine lobster and lobster tacos. it's back, but not for long. [ woman ] our guests go crazy for lobsterfest. my favorite entree is the lobster lover's dream. what's yours?

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all right. more on the breaking news out of sclaigz. a rolling shootout. local affiliates reporting three people dead. they say it started in front of a casino. two men in two cars shooting at one another while driving down the street. let's talk to someone who knows better, jose herr nan deds, the public information officer at the las vegas police department. thank you for being here. >> thank you. how are you? >> i'm good. i wish you were here on better circumstances. tell us how this started. >> what we have right now is at 4:20 this morning two vehicles were northbound las vegas boulevard at flamingo when one

of the vehicles, a wlak range rover fired shots into a maserati striking the driver and the passenger of this vehicle. this caused the vehicle to go out of control, continues through the intersection, striking a cab which subsequently catches on fire and then striking four additional vehicles. as a result, three of the -- three of those occupants of the vehicles were transported for injuries and the cab driver and the passenger were trapped inside the vehicle. at this time we have three confirmed deceased, two of those being the cab driver and the passenger, and the driver of the maserati. one of the occupants in the maserati was wounded from the shots. right now, what we're asking is that anyone that has information regarding this black range rover sport to contact the las vegas

metropolitan police department. it has large black rims and a dealership advertisement plate on it and occupied by what we believe is black males. remember that this vehicle is armed and dangers. anyone with information please contact the las vegas police department. >> can you give me the make of the car again? >> yes, it's a black range rover sport. >> range rover sport. i'm writing this down. >> with large black rims. >> do you know why this started ? did it start in front of a casino and continue down the road? >> right now the information we have as you can imagine is in the very preliminary stages. so this is the information we have right now. apparently both vehicles were traveling northbound. may have come to a red light, and this is where the incident begins to escalate.

>> so the shooting only came from the black range rover, not the maserati. >> what we can tell right now at this time is that the shots were fired from the black range rover, yes. >> how busy -- you know, las vegas is a city that truly never sleeps, everybody at 4:20 in the morning. how many cars were on the road? were there tourists walking up and down the street? >> las vegas boulevard is a very busy area here in las vegas. we have visitors from all over. you'll find pedestrians and traffic at pretty much any hour on the strip. it's a 24 h-hour town, so you'l always find someone out on the boulevard. so it's not uncommon to find traffic there at all times of the day. >> as you well know, we're talking a bot about gun violence in the country. is this unusual for las vegas?

do you have a problem with gun violence? >> i would say this is unusual. we -- we work extremely -- extremely hard with our -- with all the property -- all the properties on las vegas boulevard, we have a great working relationship with them. and, of course, our goal is to continue to keep las vegas, not just las vegas itself, but the strip, keep it safe. we know we have a lot of visitors that come visit us here in las vegas. that's our goal is to keep everyone safe. we have a great working relationship with everyone on the strip. so for us, this is unusual. >> and sadly, it took place in such a popular area, right near the bellagio and the boulevard is shut down which is affecting tourists throughout the day because they won't be able to get to the casinos, or will

they? >> like i say, we have a very good working relationship with everyone on the strip, all the properties. and i know that we're going to be working very close with them to -- to help divert, whether it's the visitors or the employees that are -- that are coming to work. >> all right, and again, the police are still looking for this black range rover sport vehicle, large black rims. a number of black males inside that car. so if you see that car, and the car looks suspicion, call police because, of course, those men are obviously armed and dangerous. thank you so much. jose herr nan dez from las vegas. >> up next, the hot topic show. and your comments. the first is the shooting in las vegas. we're going to talk about that and then who's to blame for the forced spending cuts in washington which seem to pale in

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standard at citibank. to our new half hour tack show talkback, great guests and your comments. on tap, who's to blame for forced spending cuts in washington? and are gay rights the same as civil rights. but first las vegas. i just talked to las vegas police department. discussing with us today, maria cardona, roland martin, rich galen, and amy kremer, tea party express chairwoman. thanks to you for joining us. before the discussion, i'd like to talk a little bit more about what's happening in las vegas. las vegas boulevard remains

closed down because of a rolling shoot out this morning. it started at 4:30 a.m. sclangs time top. . so many men in a black range rover smarted shooting at a maserati. this was in front of a casino and they drove boun the boulevard. the range rover shooting into the maserati. other cars were involved in the mess. and we understand the driver of the maserati has been killed. during the course of the rolling shootout, somebody ran into a taxi, that exploded into flames. two people were killed, the taxi driver and the passenger. so las vegas police confirmed three people dead. the men responsible for the shooting in the black range rover are still at large. they escaped, so police are asking for your help in finding this vehicle. let's listen to w -- wklas, our

affiliate out in las vegas, the chopper reporter. he describes what went down extremely well. >> just unbelievable as we piece together what happened. and obviously metro police are trying to piece things together themselves. but once again, live pictures from chopper eight showing you the horrific nature, the fiery end to the accident involving the maserati and an unnamed vehicle. we were mentioning the passenger was shot and killed right before the car actually crashed. there's the maserati on northbound las vegas boulevard, there's the taxi cab that caught fire and exploded upon impact, killing two people, and numerous other cars and a pickup truck outside the shot. i'm going to show you the closure parameter. this is i-15 where traffic is starting to back up as everybody has to be diverted on to the

northbound i-15 whether you like it or not, this is your detour. northbound i-15, use harmon, tropicana or the super arterial to avoid the area. it will be shut down until noon or later. >> he's right. because las vegas boulevard still closed. and i want to talk about this because we see this kind of thing go down in hollywood movies, and this is real life. this is what really happens, people die in these kinds of incidents, cars explode, and people die. it happened in such a popular area. because i'm sure all of you have been been to the bellagio, that's why where it ended. i just want to get your tlaugts on more evidence of gun violence in our nation. >> this speaks to exactly what i've said with the ridiculous debate. it's one dimensional. what we're dealing with is folks, anger issues, folks, a con conflict resolution, whether

or not it's the strip in las vegas or new orleans, or chicago, stand your ground in florida, the guy at the gas station, music is too loud. we have an epidemic in this country of american who is choose to resolve conflicts, a gun. that to me is a fundamental problem we have. and passing a law is not going to solve that. >> and rich, vice president joe biden is in connecticut right now he's talking about gun control measures from the president wants to put into place. at the same time, the nra has bought a number of ads in newspapers across the country attacking democratic lawmakers who support gun control measures. it seem like we're all talking around the problem and real life just keeps on happening. >> well, i agree with what roland said. we have no idea what happened in this case. so i mean, we can't make much reference if they didn't have guns, who knows what the precipitated cause was and they may have run them into a light

stand. who knows what would have happened if they didn't have guns. but i think it is important to note that -- that while almost all -- almost all of the gun violence happens with handguns, the conversation seems to be centered largely around long guns, especially semi-automatic weapons, and that's rarely the case. it happens now and again, obviously, and it did in connecticut. >> well, i can do think. >> it's almost always a handgun. >> i think there's a surface discussion, there's no depth. we're not getting at underlying problem. maria. >> yeah, i completely agree. look, we have to look at this in a much more come prehencive and holistic manner. we have to look at how we as a society are dealing with conflict resolution. but i also believe that part of that conflict resolution is

engraved in so many american's brains that they can do this with guns, and the reason they believe that is because so many people who should not have access to guns have access to guns. people who are crazy, people who are mentally unbanaled, evil and criminal. and i do think that while the proposals that are in congress right now in terms of background checks or even the assault weapons ban is not going to solve everything. it can start to get to one part of the problem which is trying to make sure that these guns are kept out of the hands of people who should not have them. and i think the more this happens, the more this kind of discussion is going to take place and the more we have to deal with the reality. >> and amy, i know the nra wants to take guns out of the equation, but these crimes are perpetrated with guns. how can you take guns completely out of the equation and say it's about everything else but not guns. >> well, i think the keyword is crime. these people are criminals that

are committing these acts, the majority of them, and criminals are going to get guns no matter what laws you pass. newtown shooting happened with him stealing guns, those guns didn't belong to him. you can pass all the laws you want, but you look at the violence we see in video games, in movies, it's all around us. we do need to have a deeper discussion about it. but passing a law is not going to solve the problem. >> we need to expand this. here's what happens, this is the false narrative. the people are criminals. talk about what happens when you have domestic violence situations, when somebody bumps into somebody else, and you disrespect me, i pull a gun out. all of these cases are not just about a question of crime. what i'm trying to say it goes so much deeper, it is embedded in the psyche of americans when it comes to the love affair with guns, why we have to have them, why we need them. that's why i've been so angry

with this discussion since newtown because it has been so one dimensional and folks unafraid for some reason to connect newtown with chicago to florida to new orleans to other cities, and say how do we address what is an epidemic in america, not just a law. >> and again -- just an update for our viewers about what -- hold on, folks. just an update about what's happened in las vegas. rolling shootout, three people are dead, and the shooter who was driving a black range rover sport is still at large. but you can see the aftermath of the rolling shootout down las vegas boulevard. that shooter shooting in a maserati, that driver is dead. there were ensuing traffic accidents, a taxi exploded into flames, the taxi drivers and passenger dead. after a quick break, we'll talk

about our next question, who's to blame for forced spending cuts in washington. we'll be right back. mine was earned in djibouti, africa, 2004. the battle of bataan, 1942. [ all ] fort benning, georgia, in 1999. [ male announcer ] usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation because it offers a superior level of protection and because usaa's commitment to serve the military, veterans, and their families is without equal. begin your legacy. get an auto-insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. it's lots of things. all waking up. ♪

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you're thinking of the 1.6 million daily customer care interactions xerox handles. or the 900 million health insurance claims we process. so, it's no surprise to you that companies depend on today's xerox for services that simplify how work gets done. which is...pretty much what we've always stood for. with xerox, you're ready for real business. talkback, who's to blame for forced spending cuts. you know sequestration. it is exhausting. imagine plague the blame game day after day after day. >> i'm not really willing to discuss it in the framework that he's made up himself.

i mean, for goodness sakes, it was his proposal. he proposed the sequester. it was his idea. he signed it into law and now he's going to tell us it's our fault. >> he as in president obama but does senator paul realize that according to the atlantic the senate has not passed major legislation in 952 days? allow me to let that sink in. 952 days of nothing much. seriously. who really cares who's to blame? in eight days if congress doesn't act, $1.2 trillion worth of spending cuts will begin, and according to the congressional budget office, if that happens 750,000 jobs will be lost over the next seven months and the economy will slow again and won't that fun? as for the president, het he'sest sitting down to urge congress to act while his men play the exhausting blame game.

>> we can't do anything without the house republicans doing something. their view is these cuts should happen. they have made a political decision that these automatic cuts should go into effect, which means that there are americans working today who will lose their jobs. that's a choice they're making. >> whatever, just do something. so talkback question today, who's to blame for forced spending cuts, you know, as if sequestration. and i'm going to amy kremer first, because as you know, some people would blame the tea party for this, what do you say? >> no, carol. it's not -- you wasn't blame the tea party. i think there's enough blame to go around. it did originate with the president and the white house, but the house and the senate both agreed to it and passed it. the bottom line is contrary to what everybody beliefs, the tea party movement knows that the spending started under president bush and accelerated over the past four or five years. our government is out of control and we have to rein in the

spending with and the department of defense and all the departments knew it was coming and did nothing. they sat back and thought washington will figure it out. it's $85 billion. when you're overspending $1.6 trillion a year, let the cuts happen. it's not cutting. it just slows the rate of growth. we have got to rein in the spending. it's the biggest threat to national security. >> amy, where are the tea party rallies on capitol hill? are they mobilizing like they were at first? i agree with you. i don't think defense should be off the table, but the question is, is the tea party, are they rallying in virginia? are they rallying in these states where the defense jobs are? don't just say it on television, mobilize your people. >> that's the whole thing. >> make it happen. >> the media doesn't cover us the way they used to because we're no longer out in the

streets. we're engaging, it's 2.0, and we're lobbying our officials in every way we can. >> take to the streets. >> what's that? >> take it to the streets. the media is going to cover you when you take it to the streets. >> roland, you know what, having a rally, all it does is give a visual for the media to show. that's not -- that's not really effecting change. the real change happens outside of a rally. >> maria, amy has a point. she has a point, right? >> yeah -- yes. so i agree with a lot of what amy said except for house republicans didn't just agree to it, speaker boehner is on the record with a power point talking about sequestration, about how he wants to use it to get what he wants out of this administration. and we have a poll out today, a usa today/pugh research poll out saying that if the spending cuts go through and middle class families who will be the ones

most devastated start feeling this, 50% of americans will blame republicans, less than a third will blame this president. and that is the quandary that republicans find themselves in. and also, in that same poll and we've seen it again and again and again, majorities of americans agree with the way this president wants to approach the debt and the deficit issue. and that is in a balanced way. yes, we need spending cuts and yes, we need to reduce all of the government spending that amy is talking about. but we can't just do it by cutting. majorities of americans agree that the richest americans still need to put more revenue on the table and that's where this president is focused on that. >> what i'm wondering through all of this is your we arguing about the same thing. should is be balanced, raise taxes or -- we've been arguing about this for like, what? five years now? >> for 270 years, since 1789. i wrote a column the other day

and got a lot of thoughtful responses from readers about how this was going to effect them individually. and they were very -- individual people people are going to be harmed. it's nice to sit back and think lofty thought, but almost everybody gets something from the federal government in terms of services that cost money or money that costs money. and -- and members of congress and the president and everybody and the people that receive it are all to blame because nobody wants to give up on whatever thing is most crucial to them in their lives. >> it's the old not in my backyard. >> but i do know we're not going to get out of this without everybody says here's what i'll throw into the pot, let's see what you got. >> i'll keep my digits crossed. got it get to our friends now. in from heirial. tea party republicans are blame.

if all these workers are fired how do we make up for the lost income taxes and sales taxes without their income. sequestration was obama's idea so he could get out of budget talks and go on the campaign trail. facebook.com/carolcnn or tweet me @carolcnn. next talkback question, are gay rights civil rights?

talkback question, are gay rights the same at civil rights? it's a controversy that's intensified with that brand new ad from the respect for marriage coalition promoting same-sex marriage.

>> we want to be told we can't marry the person we love, that's why a growing majority of americans believe it's time to allow marriage for day and lesbian couples. >> when couples are committed they ought to have the same rights as everyone else. >> living together under the protection was law seems to be the way to move. >> freedom is freedom for everyone. >> that montage of prominent republicans giving clout to what some see as a liberal agenda, but laura bush now asking to be removed, saying the group never got her permission. it shows how sensitive the topic is. and although president obama linked the civil rights march to gay rights, others are uncomfortable. like a birmingham city council woman, she felt a dissatisfy sdpait sdpai at the -- homosexuality is a choice. i didn't choose to be black.

that's the difference. i know there's a difference between a choice and being black. she later wrote that her statement was taken out of context. she does not condone mistreatment and to minimize one struggle for soot not wise. but the question can remains, l.z. granderson is joining us because you've written on this issue. are day rights the same as civil rights? >> absolutely. i think that people sometimes get it confused. i don't think that it's equal to the civil rights movement. i think there are different movements. but the idea of what civil rights isn't something born in the usa. we've been discussing did this -- the modernized world has been discussing civil rights for many years. catholics in britain were discriminated against legally in great britain. this notion of civil viegts not just u.s. and the civil rights movement.

>> do you agree? >> the question is wrong, is gay rights civil rights, is it the same as the black civil rights movement? that is the distinction. so we have african-americans and couldn't vote and stay in restaurants, but if you were white and gay, you could. look at folks, disabilities. that was taken from the civil rights act. women's rights, title nine comes out of the civil rights act. a women's movement, a disabilities movement, a gay movement, a black movement, those are different movements, but the umbrella comes under civil rights. that's the distinction. >> some people, amy, want to say gay rights are human rights, not civil rights, what do you say? >> you know, carol, the tea party movement we don't get involved in the social issues. in 2010 when we drove the message about the economy we won

big. when we started the social,with the republican party driving the messaging, we lost. we need to stick to what affects all of us, and that's the economy. but the 14th amendment gives all equal rights. so when we're talking about gay marriage and the other issues, the federal government doesn't need to be involved in that decision. that -- gay marriage and marriage in general need to be something that is the church decides. the government shouldn't be involved in this. but at the end of the day, that's why the 10th amendment is there, to put it back in states rights. no one has a constitutional right to marriage. we're all created equal under the 14th amendment. >> l.z., the beginning part of the answer you were smiling, why? >> well, only because once the tea party got into power, we saw a significant spike in the pieces of legislation dealing with abortion, which is a social issue. so i don't think necessarily it's all about the money. i think there's definitely a tie

in with social issues as well. and as far as the statement she made about the church being the decider, you know, there are people who don't two to church and don't believe in god and they're able to marry. it's not just about the church, whether to grant you the ability to get married. the marriage is a legal, binding document that binds together possessions and finances. it's a contract. and so that's not something that the church actually hands out. it's what the government -- so, yes, the government should be involved in that conversation. >> i wish we could talk about this more. but we're out of time. i want to thank maria cardona, roland, l. zavmt, rich and amy. thank you so much for being here. i want to get to the facebook freends to see what thing, are dwae rights civil rights in marriage is a civil right president just because the african-american community had a civil rights movement doesn't mean they own it.

as an african-american woman i'm offended they're considered the same. please continue the conversation facebook.com/carolcnn, or tweet me @tweet kraerl. i'm carol costello, newsroom continues right now with christine romans. ne as well. jackie, tell me why somebody should bring they're car here to the ford dealership for service instead of any one of those other places out there. they are going to take care of my car because this is where it came from. price is right no problem, they make you feel like you're a family. get a synthetic blend oil change, tire rotation and much more, $29.95 after $10.00 rebate. if you take care of your car your car will take care of you. a regular guy with an irregular heartbeat. the usual, bob? not today. [ male announcer ] bob has afib: atrial fibrillation not caused by a heart valve problem, a condition that puts him at greater risk for a stroke.